Idle adjustment & gear grinding.

[bearclaw46]

I have a fairly new Frontier 6x6 with the 23 HP B&S. I don't like the idea of the small grinding I'm getting when I put it into gear, esp in reverse. The carburetor is underneath the air filter. I haven't taken the air filter assy off yet but would like to set my idle down a bit to make the grinding disappear. At this point, I haven't a clue where the idle screw is on this. Am I looking for the air/fuel adjustment screws or the idle screw??? The dealer says the grinding is normal and leave it alone but I don't agree. Grinding means 2 gears are trying to mesh and possibly taking off metal when they grind, which ain't good in my opinion. What do you guys think and what is the rpm my motor should be to take out the grinding?? It's the 627cc B&S Vanguard. I just ordered a Tiny Tach (of all places Cabela's) and will probably use it to set the idle.

[Roger S]

Take the air cleaner off, it's easy. You'll see the idle speed screw at the right rear on the two barrel. Now, it may be the governor controlling the idle and you'd have to adjust/bend something there. But will tell you about the carb anyway. There are two mixture screws on the top, one for each barrel/cylinder. The screws have plastic push on caps that limit their movement.

Actually I havn't worked on a frontier, just the briggs two barrels of the past. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.

The other thing I like is something on the belt. Some like belt dressing of some fashion. I like powdered graghite, sprayed into the clutches and belt, for the sake of the clutch bushings mainly.. I like what it does for the belt and cvt operation. It doesn't last a long time, but when first sprayed on, the belt will actually roll to a stop when it's laying on the clutch shaft.

[Rock Doctor]

I have a fairly new Frontier 6x6 with the 23 HP B&S. I don't like the idea of the small grinding I'm getting when I put it into gear, esp in reverse. The carburetor is underneath the air filter. I haven't taken the air filter assy off yet but would like to set my idle down a bit to make the grinding disappear. At this point, I haven't a clue where the idle screw is on this. Am I looking for the air/fuel adjustment screws or the idle screw??? The dealer says the grinding is normal and leave it alone but I don't agree. Grinding means 2 gears are trying to mesh and possibly taking off metal when they grind, which ain't good in my opinion. What do you guys think and what is the rpm my motor should be to take out the grinding?? It's the 627cc B&S Vanguard. I just ordered a Tiny Tach (of all places Cabela's) and will probably use it to set the idle.

Hey BC, Just a thought.
My Argo's both idle a little high, but to get them to idle down I just have to "Bump" the throttle a bit. When I do this, they will idle down to the point where they almost stall. It's just something that I have gotten used to , and do without thinking now.
Reason:
It's nice to have a high idle at times, and this way I don't have to re-adjust the idle all the time.

RD

[bearclaw46]

Grinding

Rock Doc, do your gears grind a bit when you put it into gear?? Mine do (not a lot but it's annoying) and Reverse is more noticeable. I was riding with a guy that had an 03 Bigfoot and man his gears were REALLY grinding at times. I thought he was gonna tear something up it was so loud. The dealer said it was normal but I don't know, I used to drive stick shifts without snychro's and if the idle was too high, it would grind and back then you didn't mind it too much but it wasn't something you'd strive for.

[Rock Doctor]

Rock Doc, do your gears grind a bit when you put it into gear?? Mine do (not a lot but it's annoying) and Reverse is more noticeable. I was riding with a guy that had an 03 Bigfoot and man his gears were REALLY grinding at times. I thought he was gonna tear something up it was so loud. The dealer said it was normal but I don't know, I used to drive stick shifts without snychro's and if the idle was too high, it would grind and back then you didn't mind it too much but it wasn't something you'd strive for.

My gears will grind if I don't give the throttle a little bump, to get it to idle down. Your Dealer is correct though, most Argos will grind a bit if you try to shift slowly. I know it sounds bad, but if you shift with authority, it's not so bad.

[tracmaster]

i also mounted a TinyTach under my hood and set my 31hp efi to 1000 rpms and she never grinds. Shifting fast is the best way..Remember if you start to grind ..don't force it.. just put her back in neutral and try again.

Tracmaster

[yellowargo]

I had the exact same issue when I first got my 2008 Frontier. Lowered the idle as stated above, remove the breather and the screw is left rear corner , easy to see. Little adjustsmets while runnng and it fixed it, took less than 5 minutes and solved a ton of frustration. I also do not like grind unless it with the ladies on the dance floor., I have had to adjust the idle slightly as the seasons change here in Canada from the extreme temp. swings we see.

later...

[Roger S]

If it makes you feel any better, the frontier/avenger trans has engagement "lugs" or "dogs" like a motorcycle trans, so it's not the actual gear teeth that are grinding, unlike the older argo trans with straight cut gears that are grinding/meshing teeth like an unsyncronized trans.

[Silverbullet75]

I have the same issue with my Frontier. Dropping the idle helps, but you may also want to play with the mixture as well. They are the two black "fingers" that rotate. (I don't know how else to describe them)
Here in Nevada, the mixture was not right for low altitude... constantly backfired when shutting it off. So, I adjusted it a bit and it fixed the problem...then I slowed the idle.

Now... question for you... do you also have the problem of the trans getting stuck in neutral? I have to sometimes rock the machine forward/backward to get it to drop into gear.

[bearclaw46]

stuck in neutral

Silverbullet75,
Me personally, I haven't had any problem with my 07 Frontier's tranny being stuck in neutral. It's shifted out of neutral easily everytime I've shifted it.

Dennis

[bearclaw46]

Idle screw

YellowArgo,
I take my breather/filter off and then there's another plate underneath that. I guess it's underneath that somewhere but when I take the breather/filter off, there's no screw there to adjust that I can see. Guess I'll have to disassemble it a bit more. Mine's an 07 tho, may be diff than an 08.

Dennis

[yellowargo]

Yes Sorry it is under the plate. Three bolts to take out total! You can reach it without removing it but it was hard to get at and I didn't want to over loosen it and drop the screw down in the machine.

[650ARGOINIOWA]

Bearclaw: I just got an Argo frontier myself in April I'v had to tur the idel up on mine. when I would come to a stop it would die most of the time.

[bearclaw46]

Idle screw

Thanks Guys for the info,
I guess I'll try and adjust it anyway and see if it does anything better. Plus that, it'll be nice to know how to do it anyway. Tracmaster, I found a Tiny Tac at, of all places, Cabela's. They have one for an outboard motor also on their site. Roger S, I have some belt dressing in a spray can. Think it's graphite. I understand it would help the belt but wouldn't that hurt your clutches though if you spray that in there??
Thanks
Dennis

[Roger S]

I can't comment on belt dressings as I havn't used them. I use dry powdered graphite in a plastic tube or bottle. You can use your spray stuff on the belt and see what happens. If you don't like what it does, it'll wear off soon enough.